Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
He sank into Soren, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him in as tight as he could get. Their tongues tangled and Alexei moaned into his mouth, losing himself to the feel and taste of Soren. After what felt like a lifetime of being on the run and searching for something that didn’t exist, he’d found his home at last.
Soren hummed happily, his free hand sliding down Alexei’s spine, pressing him as close as he could possibly get him. It was like he couldn’t get enough. “I was getting afraid that you were growing tired of me. Idiot that I am. Too much of a nuisance,” he said between kisses. “I’m not ready to let you out of my sight.”
Lifting his head, Alexei stared at him. “Really? I thought you were getting tired of me.”
“Why would you think that?”
“What you said at the restaurant. How you prefer to work solo. I thought it was a hint that you were tired of me tagging along.”
Soren groaned and pulled Alexei in tighter. “You’re right. I am a fucking idiot,” he grumbled in Alexei’s ear before nibbling briefly on the lobe. “I used to be a loner. I used to like working solo, but being with you, I…”
“What?” Alexei prodded breathlessly. His heart was pounding, and his fingers were digging into Soren’s shoulders as he clung to the man. It was as if they were standing on the edge of a cliff and he was waiting for Soren to shove them both over.
“You’ve changed everything. I can’t go back to my old life and be happy. It’s impossible.” Soren took a deep breath and shook his head. “After this is over, promise me that we’ll take that vacation you suggested.”
“To the Maldives?”
“Or Fiji. Or wherever. I would like to spend some time getting to know you when someone isn’t trying to kill us. I want to know if there’s something there or if it’s the adrenaline and sex.”
It wasn’t easy to play it cool when his heart was crowing “I told you so” at his brain, but Alexei somehow managed it. “You know, the sex has been pretty great.”
“True, but I’d like to know if you can love me for more than my ass.”
With that smile and killer sense of humor, Alexei was pretty sure he had no chance of avoiding love and he didn’t care to try. But they had zero shot at a future if they didn’t get out of the mess they were currently in.
“We’ll see,” Alexei teased, but softened it by pressing a quick kiss to the tip of Soren’s nose. “What I was thinking was that we need help. Maybe I should call my uncles in. At least get their advice on what to do next.”
Soren’s eyes narrowed, and he stared at Alexei for a long time as if he could actually see the chaotic thoughts zipping around in his brain. To his surprise, Soren lightly held his chin between his thumb and index finger as he firmly said, “There is no shame in asking for help. It takes a strong and wise man to reach out to others when a situation has turned against him. A lesson it took me way too long to learn. You’re a smarter, braver man than me.”
“Thank you. You know I’m not serious when I call you an idiot, right? I don’t really think that. That idea of hiding the hard drive in the Louvre was fucking brilliant.”
The man beamed at him, and Alexei’s chest warmed at that look of happiness. “I have no idea how I’ve lived so long without you,” Soren murmured softly as if he were talking to himself. He shook his head and laughed. Stepping away from Alexei, he walked over to the laptop and immediately frowned at it. Clearly things had not improved.
“I think talking to your uncles would be a wise idea. I’ll admit that I was expecting them to be waiting here at the house after you told them where we were heading.”
Alexei giggled as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Yeah, me too.” It was 16:30, which put it just after 8:30 in the morning in Denver. There was a good chance his uncles were having their first cups of coffee by now. It was always safer to have them caffeinated prior to dropping bad news.
He selected Gabriel’s number, pressed the call button, and immediately switched it over to speakerphone so Soren could listen to the call as well. As he’d expected, it rang only twice before his beloved uncle’s gruff voice filled the kitchen.
“Tell me you haven’t been shot,” Gabriel growled.
Alexei made a show of rolling his eyes for Soren as he slid onto one of the stools at the island. “I haven’t been shot, stabbed, poisoned, burned, or tortured in any fun and interesting ways.”